Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 153 Wooden Sculpture of a Human Head
"A wooden head carving?"

Zhou Zhao's face darkened. She looked around and saw a writing brush, ink, and inkstone on the table. She took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and quickly drew a portrait on it.

The Zhou family can be considered a distinguished family, and every member of the clan has studied the Six Arts of a Gentleman.

Putting aside everything else, Zhou Zhao's paintings are exceptionally lifelike; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they are incredibly realistic.

She had just finished painting the upper half of her face when the shopkeeper exclaimed in surprise.

"That's right, that's exactly how it was. I was terrified. The wooden carving had a raised horn on its forehead, baring a mouthful of teeth, looking like it was giving a sinister smile. I immediately felt it was a very bad omen."

After we got home, he even had my wife whip me with mugwort to ward off bad luck. Sun Yang doesn't usually seem like the type to wear such evil items.

Zhou Zhao finished writing, folded the handkerchief again, and put it into his sleeve pocket.

She looked solemnly at the shopkeeper and said, "If you don't want to die a violent death, I suggest you never mention the things we asked you to anyone else, especially this wooden head carving. Don't say a word about it."

Having said that, worried that the shopkeeper might not heed the advice, Zhou Zhao added, "If the deceased is Sun Yang..."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his gaze toward the shopkeeper was filled with oppressive intent. "Then the murderer has already killed at least seven people. I hope you don't become the eighth."

The shopkeeper's expression changed drastically. He solemnly cupped his hands to Zhou Zhao and said, "Young Master Zhou, I will absolutely not say anything. If anyone asks, I will remember who it is and report to the Court of Justice."

Zhou Zhao was instantly satisfied.

If everyone in the entire Daqi Kingdom had the same keen eye as the manager of Manmoji, the murderer would probably be bound hand and foot, carried on a wooden stick like a pig into the Court of Justice.

"Very good, be sure to remember my words. Where does Sun Yang live?"

The shopkeeper lowered his voice, "In Pigeon Lane of Fengyifang, there are two stone-carved cats in front of the door, the one with an orchid in its mouth. It's not far from here. He has an old servant named Uncle Chang."

The orchids we planted in front of our little building were bought from Sun Yang; Uncle Chang delivered them in his cart.

As the shopkeeper spoke, his eyes darted around, "Please, gentlemen, sit here for a while and try some of the tea and snacks at Manmoji. I'll go downstairs to attend to the guests, and I'm afraid I won't be back for a bit."

As he spoke, he didn't collect the silk on the table, but instead opened the door and walked out. He didn't close the door, but let Zhou Zhao watch him go downstairs.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhao walked to the door, twitched his ears, and then closed the door.

"This shopkeeper is quite a character," Zhou Zhao couldn't help but praise.

Min Cangzhi raised his chin, a smug look on his face. "The person who can hire me to blend perfumes and manage such an elegant little building must be a smart person. If you met their owner, you would know even more what it means to be a 'jade tree and orchid.'"

Zhou Zhao nodded perfunctorily, "Yes, he is handsome and refined, and you are dashing and charming."

Min Cangzhi stopped waving his fan and looked at Zhou Zhao with surprise, "How did you know they all praised me like that? You must say that to Chu You."

Zhou Zhao winked at Min Cangzhi: "I wonder if there are enough words in the classics for each of you so-called refined people to have one each." Min Cangzhi almost gritted his teeth. Zhou Zhao was subtly criticizing them for always flattering each other!

That is indeed the case.

"Let's get down to business," Zhou Zhao's face darkened. "I know about this kind of wooden head carving. It was a few days before Shan Ming and Chang Yang's case. Chang Ying and I couldn't stay idle at that time, so we wandered all over Chang'an. Because my father was the Minister of Justice at the time, we would chase after anything suspicious we encountered."

Su Changying shook his head with some regret; he couldn't remember any of it.

He suddenly felt a pang of envy for his former self, for having so many precious memories with Zhou Zhao.

"Chen Hou's daughter, Zhang Ying, was distracted because she found a letter in her own garden. The letter was quite elegant and had a faint floral fragrance about it."

The post essentially told her to go alone to a place called Yu Garden in Chang'an three days later, where she could escape her predicament and fulfill a wish. At the time, Zhang Ying was choosing a husband.

She had a sweetheart, but her father wanted her to marry the son of the Marquis of Liu. She was distressed, fearing she had no way to escape this forced marriage, and longed to go to Yu Garden. However, she dared not trust such a mysterious place, and even more so, dared not go alone to keep the appointment.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he looked at Su Changying and said, "I took the invitation and went to the appointment. Changying was good at light footwork and hid in the shadows to provide backup."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his thoughts suddenly drifted back to the past.

"That Yu Garden was actually an abandoned residence. There were quite a few places like that in Chang'an at that time. Ten people came in with invitations that day. The house was empty except for a large table."

After all ten of us sat down, suddenly the ground gave way beneath our feet, and we all fell into the stone chamber below.

On the wall of the stone chamber hung nine wooden carvings of human heads strung together with red rope, each with a protruding horn and baring teeth.

Even now, Zhou Zhao still remembers the horrified expressions on everyone's faces after they understood the rules.

Suddenly, a pair of eyes appeared on the wall of the stone chamber! Someone was standing next door observing everyone in the room. It was a man, not very tall, only about up to my ear.

Only nine out of ten people will make it out alive, and each of them who survives can have one wish granted.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his expression turned particularly grim. "The tenth rope is a hemp rope, and its purpose is self-evident. In the corner of the stone chamber, there is a copper water clock that drips water drop by drop. When the water runs out, the time will have come. If by then, not one person dies and nine survive, then everyone will die."

The stone chamber reeked of tung oil, and oil was visibly present on the floor. If the person spying had thrown a tinderbox through the small hole, everyone inside would have been burned to death.

Zhou Zhao didn't go into the details, but if this had happened four years ago, when she was still a young girl, she would have been considered the weakest and chosen as the one to take the fall.

"Later, seeing that the atmosphere was getting increasingly strange, we worked together with Changying to forcefully break into the stone chamber. Everyone survived, but that person disappeared without a trace. The case file was left at the Court of Justice."

But because no one was injured, the murderer vanished like a fish into water. And…

Zhou Zhao paused for a moment, then continued, "And just a few days later, the Shanming Changyang case occurred. After my father left the Court of Justice, the matter was left unresolved. Those nine wooden head carvings should still be in the Court of Justice's storeroom."

"Now, the wooden head carving has reappeared..."